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Worried patients are going to A&E because they are unable to get a GP appointment, new figures suggest.

About one in 60 people trying to see their family doctor resorted to an accident and emergency department in England last year.

It adds up to 6million extra visits annually, estimates from Imperial College London suggest.

Dr Maureen Baker, chairwoman of the Royal College of GPs, said: ‘Every patient should be able to visit their family doctor when they need to.

‘But this research is further evidence of the crisis in general practice, with family doctors heaving under the strain of rocketing patient demand, due to a growing and ageing population and plummeting investment.’

The university reviewed the national GP survey for 2012/13, with 1million responses from patients.

Dr Baker claims that 90 per cent of patient contacts happen in GP surgeries – but they only receive 8.39 per cent of the budget.

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‘There are 40million more consultations a year in general practice than five years ago. Without the vital funding general practice needs, the future for patients is looking increasingly bleak.’

But Dr Clifford Mann, of the College of Emergency Medicine, said: ‘In our experience, most patients we see have made the right call in coming to A&E.

‘Our own research found 15 per cent of patients could safely be redirected to their GP – this represents 2.1million patients a year.’

NHS England director Ben Dyson said access to GPs was improving, with a greater use of flexible phone, email and video consultations.